Meanwhile an international organization of Muslim intellectuals has
threatened to mobilize “millions of Muslims all over the
World” to boycott Danish and Norwegian products unless the Danish
and Norwegian government condemn the publication of the cartoons,
which is called an “attack on the Muslims of the World and on the
Prophet.”

Yeah. Apologies if you're one of the Muslims who isn't a raving nutcase, but if you are, can you petition the Danish and Norwegian governments to make a strong statement and shut these lunatics up, maybe by claiming trademark infringement or defamation of character or something? Because, frankly, they're making this peace loving hippy think that superior firepower may indeed be the solution to the problems of the Middle East.

i keep getting the feeling that the muslims are trying to take over the world :< i look at cnn/headline news for info about iraq (keeping up with brother's status over there) and the news is all about what the muslim factions are upset about. who cares? and now the iranians are mad at everyone/u.n./u.s. and is making threats about raising the cost of oil. i feel that a noose is slipping around our necks and is getting tighter and tighter. what is going to happen next?

I would like to ask the same muslim friends why it is that these cartoons (which I did find in poor taste, but well) sparked massive riots, while the thousands of terrorist attacks that have been perpretated in the name of Allah over the last couple of decades have not elicitated a single sympathetic response in any muslim country.

An apology for at least some of the more gratituous acts of terrorism would not come amiss.

The way I figure it, every member of an organization or group is responsible for maintaining the public image of that group. Rioting because you're perceived to be a bunch of violent fuckwits is two things:

> The way I figure it, every member of an organization or group is
> responsible for maintaining the public image of that group.

How do you handle the case of people that you don't want to be part of
your group claiming that they are? (And then acting in a way that
reflects poorly on your group.) For example, I try really, really hard
not to assume that *all* Christians are ignorant Luddite repressionary
fascist fsckwads just because a subset of Christians quite clearly
are. Your position would be a useful simplifying assumption, but I'm
not sure it's valid.

Because if they don't, if Christians continue to be silent in the face of that evil, then how am I to judge the name?

The jews have had this problem with the alleged "Jews for Jesus", and in my experience have been pretty good about getting to the media and showing all the ways in which those who use that moniker aren't Jews. And a number of evangelical churches are making inroads in distinguishing Christianity from Catholicism. I think that if Christians care about the brand value, it's up to those involved to start speaking out when they see that brand abused.

Christian<tm>. Such a broad brand, claimed by all factions whom all claim to be the "true and only" representation thereof. Tribal leaders convincing others that only their exact recipe for Christianiity is the One True Way(tm). Still, they will not publically confront or cause issue with the other tribes/franchises. "Let thee whom is without sin cast the first stone" is one way of saying it. "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones" is another.